Apache OpenOffice security fixes emerge

Details have emerged about the security fixes that came bundled with Apache OpenOffice 3.4.0, the latest version of the open-source productivity suite.

Apache OpenOffice 3.4.0, released last week, included fixes for three security vulnerabilities, all rated as "important". The trio included an integer overflow error involving problems in handling embedded images and a memory overwrite bug connecting with importing WordPerfect files. Both of the flaws might be used as a means to inject hostile code onto vulnerable systems, providing hackers are able to trick prospective marks into opening booby-trapped files. The third vulnerability involves what would appear to be a less serious program crash bug involving the handling of malformed PowerPoint files.

Both OpenOffice.org 3.3 and the beta versions of 3.4 are affected by all three flaws, which get patched with Apache OpenOffice 3.4.0, the first release of the software under new management after Oracle handed over the project last year.

In related news, the Apache Software Foundation announced that downloads of the software had crossed the one million milestone since the release of the software. ®